My Hope and My Light
by Profiler14
Summary: When Officer Ziva David's liaison position id terminated, she leaves her most prize possession in the care Tony DiNozzo with a job he is not ready for…parenthood. Will they ever be a family again? Based on the lyric "In this twilight, our choices seal our fate".
1. Chapter 1

**Updated chapter of chapter 1. It's about 600 words longer :P **

_Ring…ring…ring…_

Senior Field agent Anthony DiNozzo was happily lying in his teeny bed when he heard a noise that he did not want to hear: the sound of his cell phone ringing. He knew it was his boss, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs telling him to "Gear up we got a dead petty officer, or dead lieutenant, or dead naval officer" either way he knew he would eventually have to get out of bed. There was only one person who would ever call him at this hour, McGee knew better, and the only other person who would call, wouldn't. He rolled over wanting to forget that his phone was ringing. When the ringing finally stopped, he let out a sigh of relief though he knew that missing the call would result in a head slap but knew he wasn't in any condition to solve murder at the moment. He checked his caller ID to double check that it was his boss, though he already knew it was Gibbs, which it was, he could help but holding out hope that it was his estranged girlfriend. He didn't even know if he could call her that anymore. It has been awhile, his heart was set, and now it's destroyed. Though he desperately wanted to fall back asleep he knew it was too late and he just lay there looking at his dresser where he could still see the imprints in dust to where his photos had been laying scattered around his room, that now lay broken and shattered in various dumpsters while the pictures were now shredded and probably decomposed by now. He was drunk and emotional and wanted to sleep.

_Ring…ring…ring…_

He heard his phone again, this time louder than ever, and tried to locate his phone which were most likely in his discarded pants that were somewhere between his front door and his bedroom. He sat up slowly and was seriously regretting his last drink. He knew his boss would be getting worried if he didn't find his phone soon, or he would just get mad.

_Ring…ring…ring…_

"Shit" he swore knowing that if he didn't answer the phone this time he would be able to feel the head slap for more than a week. He tried to find his footing on the floor but instead he rolled over too far in his bed thus falling right on his recently discarded pants and answered the phone.

"Yeah DiNozzo" he mumbled running his free hand over his face.

"_DiNozzo, get your ass to the hospital"_

That got him up.

"What's going on boss_?"_ he asked while trying to get his pants on at the same time though he was not successful which caused him to tumble to the ground.

"_DiNozzo_" he barked "_what the hell happened?" _ He asked hearing the string of curse words flying from is senior field agent's mouth.

"Sorry boss"

"_How much have you had to drink?" _he heard his boss say.

"Not as much as I used too" he sighed "what's going on?"

"_Just get here now_" he ordered.

"Boss" he yelled before the line went dead.

He quickly hailed a cab outside his building and was quickly his way to Bethesda thinking the whole time what could have happened to one of his team/family members. As they reached the entrance to Bethesda hospital, he didn't wait for it to stop before he threw two twenties at the drivers and jumped out looking for the reception desk and his boss.

He was running frantically through the lobby when he almost ran into a young nurse on her way to the elevator.

"May I help you Sir?" a young blonde nurse asked him as he almost ran into her on their way to the elevator.

"Umm?" he said unsure what he was going to say "I'm looking for-" he continued, he didn't exactly know who he was looking for, he knew he was looking for Gibbs, but he didn't know who was in the hospital.

"DiNozzo" Gibbs barked from down the hall.

"I'm looking for him" he jerking his thumb in the direction of his silver-haired boss. "Thanks Whitney" he said as he looked at her name tag and flashed his famous grin.

"Boss what's going on? Is everyone okay?" he rambled on his way to his boss, panicking that one of his family members was seriously injured.

"It's Ziva, come on" he said as he led them to the elevator and pressed the number 4. That got Tony moving, he hadn't seen Ziva since she left and he always thought that she went to Paris or England or even back to Israel.

"It she okay boss?" he asked shakily, he needed her to be okay.

"Yeah, she's fine" he replied as the elevator ascended to their desired floor.

"But if she's fine why is she in the hospital" he demanded as Gibbs kept on looking straight ahead, not wanted to make eye contact.

"HEY" he yelled slamming his fist against the metal box.

"Tony" he said calmly activating the emergency brake, like the one that was often abused back at NCIS.

"Boss, you call me in the middle of the night to tell me to get my ass to the hospital and now you're telling me its Ziva!"

I want her to be okay but you shouldn't have called me" he admitted.

"She wanted you here, out of all of us you needed to be here" he said sympathetically as he restarted the elevator and quickly made it to their designated floor.

"Boss what are we doing here?" he asked as the metal doors slid open and looking around at the floor they were on. Did Gibbs push the wrong button? "Boss?" he repeated the question.

"Tony room 227" he said as Tony just stared at him. "Go"

"What?"

"Go DiNozzo, now"

He made his way down the brightly lit hallway and was scared as he didn't know what to expect behind the door of room 227, but now knowing where he was he had the slightest idea. He carefully knocked on the door and was opened quickly by a nurse.

"Are you Tony?" she asked with a bright smile "You found who you were looking for?" Whitney, the nurse he briefly met downstairs asked as he slowly crept into the room as he seen a small little baby being placed on Ziva's chest.

He was stunned to say the least. He defused bombs; tracked down terrorists, fought many people at a time, put now he didn't know what to do: he was speechless and motionless.

"Congratulations" Whitney said to Ziva as she took the baby to be cleaned.

"Tony" she whispered from her bed "You look like you saw a ghost" as he just stared with his mouth hanging open at what he just saw.

"Umm" was all he managed to get out.

Slowly inch by tentative inch, he made it to her bedside and was motioned to sit in the chair that rested there as Whitney came over and placed the small bundle in Ziva's awaiting arms.

"Uh…" Tony continued trying to make a comprehensible sentence, or even a thought.

"Tony…" she began "say something…please" she said as she softly stroked her daughter's cheek.

"…"

"Tony"

"You up and left" he finally exploded "and now you have Gibbs call me in the middle of the night because you had a baby?" he ranted "you never called or texted or anything you disappeared. I thought you went back to Israel or France" he ranted"…and is she…?"

"I was scared, Tony" she said with tears lining her deep brown eyes" I loved you and my liaison position could have been terminated at any moment I was scared what could have happened. I did what I thought was best for everyone"

"So you didn't tell me you decided to keep this M.O.A.S from me?!" he half-yelled trying to keep his voice as composed as possible.

"Mother of all secrets" he explained as he saw her blank expression "talk to Abby"

"I-I told you I was scared"

"But I would have been there with you Zi" Tony said starting to get a little frazzled "Through everything you know that. Your position is not going to be terminated anytime soon if Jenny has anything to do with it" he added trying to look into her eyes, which she was making it very difficult to do so.

"It already has" she said not making eye contact

"What?"

"My father is escorting me to the airport tomorrow" she said keeping her eyes trained on her baby.

"What?" Was all he managed to get out "You're leaving tomorrow? And then why did you want me here? So you're just going to take my chi-" he rambled getting ahead of himself. She never said it was his child.

"I would never hurt you like that Tony, I could never break your heart by being with someone else" she replied calmly, now looking into his green eyes.

"But you're leaving, how is that any better?"

"I do not have a choice or a say in the matter, my father terminated the position here and wants me home immediately"

"So you had Gibbs wake me up in the middle of the night…wait Gibbs knew the whole time and he didn't tell me?"

"I needed him in a time like this; he is like a father to me"

"But you still listen to Eli"

"I work for him"

"So now have a child and you're leaving…how long did you know that you were leaving?"

"…"

"Ziva" he shouted causing her to jump and the baby to cry.

"Sorry, Ziv"

"Since last week, I wanted to waiting until she was born. I told him that I had to get my affairs in order before I left. I told him an hour ago I could leave in the morning and he was fine with that" she replied calmly.

"What about her? You could have just left and I would have never known about her, but now that I do how am I supposed to let you leave?"

"I am not, cannot, leaving with her" she said tracing her finger along her daughters arm "that is why I needed you here" she said calmly.

"You're not taking her" he said stunned "then who's going to take care of her?" he asked as she just looked at him like the answer was obvious.

"Me?" he questioned.

"My father cannot know about her, I need her to grow up in place like this, not in Israel as the granddaughter of the Director of Mossad, I need her to be safe". She explained tears starting to fall from her eyes

"Will you protect her, for me?" she begged only to get a solemn nod in return.

**Ps. I'm not sure if you're allowed to use the emergency break in hospitals like they do at NCIS probably not but it's just a story.**

**REVIEW **

**DFTBA **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all. I'm re-posting chapter 2 after making some adjustments. I apologize for the lack of updates I will not bore you with details but things have not been going as planned. I have also been thinking about re-naming the story but I haven't decided. **

Tony and Ziva spent the night talking into the wee hours of the morning. Talking like they used when they were dating and when they were co-workers, both of them keeping the conversation light and neither of them addressing the elephant in the room: the discussion of her leaving or their child. He sleeping soundly on the cot in the corner dreaming soundly, when he realized he was begin woken Tony by the shining of the light that almost blinded him though he could even remember falling asleep.

"Oh, sorry to wake you" nurse Whitey said, too chipper for his liking so early in the morning.

"Um, no it's fine" he said his voice still thick with sleep "what time is it? And where's Ziva?" he asked as curiously soon as he realized that the bed previously occupied by his partner was vacant and freshly made.

"Its 0645" she said with a polite smile "and she was picked her up about an hour ago and was taken to the airport" she answered.

"She really left…again" he muttered to himself.

"What was that" she asked while another nurse wheeled a baby next to him.

"Uh, nothing important" he muttered as he looked into the sleeping face of the baby next to him.

"Um…" he muttered.

"Are you still scared?" she asked with a laugh while checking over the newborn one last time.

"No shit Sherlock" he replied sarcastically, which caused her to laugh.

"Your boss brought some things by for her this morning, like a car seat and some clothes" she said holding up a onesie that said '_I'm a baby hear, me cry'_ "everything is going to be okay" she said placing a reassuring hand on his should, knowing, though it was her first situation like this, that many fathers are as terrified like Tony is.

that he would be able to help you" she said reassuringly.

"When do I get to take her home?" he wondered and wondered how he was supposed to take care of a baby.

"I have the discharge papers, you just have to sign them and she's released in your care" she said with a smile handing over the necessary forms.

"Oh, and your copy of her birth certificate is in the diaper bag your boss brought" she replied setting the bag on the table and taking out the folded piece of paper for him.

"She has a name?" he asked.

"Yup everything's here you just need to sign the document" she said with another smile as she pushed the paper in front of him "here's the doctor's number, and my number if you need anything" she said as she gave him the business card as he signed the birth certificate. As he signed it, he noticed that the mother's name was blank. _For our daughters own protection? Right? _He thought. It felt almost foreign to him to even think _our daughter. _He never thought about having children before, they scared him; she on the other hand, was always the mothering type, though she would never admit it. And him? He couldn't even get an eight year old witness to answer some routine questions all the many years ago.

"You going to be okay?" she asked.

"I'm not sure" he replied "I have to take care of a baby" he said with sad eyes.

"Your wife left this for you" she said as she handed him a letter and lwas halfway out the door when she turned around "don't be scared" he said genuinely "your boss seems to care about you a lot though he doesn't show it much" she finished before she continued to leave the room, and turned to watch him through the hallway window for a moment until she felt a slight tap on her shoulder which caused her to jump.

"Oh Mr. Gibbs, hi, you startled me"

"How is he" Gibbs asked kindly taking a sip of his coffee.

"He's heartbroken" she replied "terrified…but he'll be okay" she finished as she gave him a smile and headed towards the elevator.

*~~N~~C~~I~~S~~*~~N~~C~~I~~S~~*~~N~~C~~I~~S~~*~~N~~C~~I~~S~~*~~N~~C~~I~~S*~~N~~C~~I~~S

Back in the hospital room Tony didn't even bother correcting her that they weren't married, and went on to read the letter that she had left him worried that the tears, that have been trying to escape, would fall over.

_Tony,_

_I know that it is against Gibbs' rule number six to apologize but it is not a sign of weakness now. I am sorry for what hurt I have caused you. I have always imagined if we ever had a child we would be together and we would be a family. I would not be a part of Mossad, and we would not have to worry about Eli or anything else. But things cannot always go like your movies can they? It was my last wish to ever break your heart like I have. It was never my intention to hurt you or our daughter. I did not wish to go back to Mossad and to Israel, but I must follow my father's orders. In order for her to be safe, she cannot know about me or her maternal side of her family. I want her to be protected from all the bad in the world for as long as possible and if that means we cannot be together I am willing to make that sacrifice for her. Gibbs told me how strong the bond between mother and child could be and I did not know how that was possible until now. I love her more than anything imaginable and I love you as well. I understand I should have told you when I found out, but I was scared of Mossad and my father, that we will be taken away from you. Half of my fear has become true. When my father allows me to return to the United States and to NCIS we will be a family when I feel it is safe for you, but for now we must be separated. Please take good care of my family._

_Ziva_

He just stared at the letter in disbelief until he heard a faint knock at the door.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked.

"DiNozzo" he said a little more harshly after not getting a reply.

"No" Tony answered quite honestly, he wasn't okay. He hadn't seen his girlfriend in almost 8 months and now she's gone and he has a baby.

"She left again" he said burying his face in hands "after what happened with Wendy and Jeanne, she knew I was putting myself out there and she crushed my heart…AGAIN"

"DiNozzo it's gonna be okay"

"How the hell do you know that?" he said his blood slowly boiling.

"I don't" he admitted.

"She abandoned a baby, her…our baby. Why didn't you tell me" he asked not daring to look his boss in the eye "we worked alongside one another everyday for almost and year it just didn't come up?" he questioned.

"She told me not to" he replied.

"WHY THE HELL NOT!" he yelled causing his daughter to start crying…which he was almost about to start doing as well.

"She needed a father DiNozzo, and I was there for her because she knew you wouldn't"

"I would have, she didn't give me a chance she decided on her own, made her own assumptions and disappeard and now she wants me to be apart of things?"

"DiNozzo, now it's the time" he said through gritted teeth as the baby started to cry even louder.

"Sorry" he mumbled as he ran his hand over his face.

"Don't apologize to me" he said lifting the crying baby and placing her in Tony's arms.

"I've never held a baby before" he said now holding his baby as if she was a bomb which caused Gibbs to laugh.

"No kidding" he laughed as he repositioned the baby in his Senior Field Agents arms "Well now you have" he continued as the baby was now sleeping soundly in her father's arms, as he looked quite terrified.

"Boss, why didn't she tell me?" he asked seriously "We've been together for two years, I wouldn't have left her. I would have been there for her. I wanted to marry her. She knew that"

"She never told me why she didn't tell you. All she told me that she was scared" he replied.

"What am I going to do? I've never been around babies before. How am I supposed to do this all alone?"

"You got me and the team, got it DiNozzo? Ziva wasn't alone, and either will you, kay?"

"Thanks boss" he sighed.

"She's very cute" Gibbs mentioned changing the subject as he looked at his granddaughter.

"Yeah" Tony agreed looking for the first time at his daughter who was now awake and alert looking straight into her father's eyes "she looks exactly like Ziva"

"That's a good thing" Gibbs joked.

"Thanks boss" he said sarcastically.

"She has a name?" Gibbs inquired.

"…Um…yeah, I just don't know what it is" he replied dumbstruck.

"Her name is Asha" he laughed as he handed Tony the birth certificate he signed but never looked at.

"Asha" he repeated looking into her sleepy eyes "it's perfect" he breathed "Asha Liora DiNozzo"

"You're going to do good kid" Gibbs told him as he gave Tony's shoulder a reaffirming pat.

"Thanks boss"

**I want to sincerely thank everyone who reviews or favorites or even just takes the time to give this story a chance it means a lot to me.**

**Reviews make my heart smile.**

**DFTBA **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. Since yesterday's post was a re-post, I decided to post the third chapter. Please don't mind any grammar mistakes I'm not feeling very well.**

Nine years later…

"ASH!" Anthony DiNozzo yelled "you're going to be late for school" he called upstairs to his nine year old daughter.

"I'm up" she said coming into the kitchen behind her father causing him to jump.

"You scared me" he said placing her pancakes on the kitchen table.

"Wouldn't I be a horrible daughter if I didn't cause my father a little bit of panic?" she said taking a seat and starting to eat her pancakes her chocolate brown curls unruly as ever though he could tell they've been brushed.

"Are you going to join me?" Asha asked hopefully.

"Sorry kiddo, we're running late" he replied kissing his daughter on the forehead as he seen her emerald green eyes fill with disappointment as she continued to eat her pancakes.

"Are you ever going to eat breakfast with me?" she mumbled inaudibly to anyone else.

"You got your school bag? I have a-"

"Meeting" she finished his sentence as she took the last bite of her pancakes "yeah I got it"

"Homework? And I forgot to do laundry" he said noticing the small grass stain on her white uniform shirt.

"Yes and Yes, Uncle Tim checked my math homework and Abby helped me study for my science test. And you did forget to do laundry but it's better than what happened last time" she grinned as she gathered her lunch bag and took two dollars from the cookie jar for juice.

"Well I don't think your teachers are going to appreciate you going to school with a half green shirt"

"Well its better than pink" she laughed.

Tony scurried into his office and hurriedly packed all his paperwork and checked his watched quickly which read 7:13 and went double speed afraid he was going to be late for the second time this week, he usually didn't mind, but this meeting was very important and started in 30 minutes. He was just unlocking his weapon from its box when his cellphone rang. "DiNozzo" he barked into his phone.

"_Hello Mr. DiNozzo this is Cathy from Saint Olivia's, we just wanted to let you know that the school will be closed today due to a broken pipe" _the recorded message went on.

"Hey Ash" he called up the stairs "there's a change of plans".

After a quick change from her school uniform to her favorite blue dress they were ready to hit the road to NCIS hopefully missing morning traffic.

The drive to NCIS Headquarters was very different for Tony: it was filled with excitement. He could feel the excitement radiating from his daughter as she bounced up and down causing her semi-wild curls go in all directions, only because of the fact that she got to go to work with him. Going to work with Tony was Asha DiNozzo's favorite thing to do in the world, sure he was usually busy with paperwork and meeting but at least they were in the same building. She loved spending time with her dad, although most of the time they had a pretty hectic schedule, mostly due to Tony's job, she cherished every moment with him and vice versa. Throughout the drive he repeatedly was glancing at his daughter through the rear view mirror now noticing her choice of outfit: the previous year's Halloween costume minus the white apron.

"You excited Ash?" Tony asked already knowing her answer as he pulled into the Navy Yard.

"Yes!" she exclaimed "I get to see Abby, and McGee, and Gibbs and Ducky and Jimmy" she said as she bounced up and down in her seat.

"I forgot I picked you up a gift" Tony said as he passed her back a small bag. Tony loved to spoil his daughter, he felt bad that he didn't get to spend a lot of time with her and wanted to remind her that he still loved her although he knew that giving her presents weren't the best idea though they were almost always books.

"_Alice in Wonderland_, thanks dad" she exclaimed which caused Tony to burst of with laughter. He knew Asha had a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Alice in Wonderland ever since she was three.

"Tonight if you finished the book, I thought we could watch the movie?" he said as he pulled into his parking space, knowing that was her favorite way to spend with her father, though she always had to read the book first.

"The 1951 classic or the 2010 remake?" she asked which reaffirmed Tony that she was her father's daughter.

"Can I read _Harry Potter _next?" she asked hopeful. She'd wanted to read those books for the longest time and Tony had been very firm that she was not allowed.

"Not until you're eleven" he replied as she took her hand and led her into the building.

Asha was a permanent fixture at NCIS and most of the agents there knew who she was and loved having her around. They climbed into the elevator and she waited as patiently as she could for the 'ding' and for the metal doors to open.

"Okay, are you going to be okay down here for a while? You won't get into trouble? You won't turn on the emergency switch in the elevator and have a tea party with your dolls again?" he asked kneeling to eye level and remembering that the fire department was need to get her out after she decided to play around with the emergency switch when she was 6.

"It was one time dad" she said with a smirk. Though everyone loved Asha to beyond bits they knew she had a knack for finding trouble.

"Okay" he said as he tried his hardest to believe her "I called Gibbs already and he doesn't mind you hanging around the bullpen and visiting Ducky and Abby if they're not too busy, because I know you get a little antsy upstairs" he rambled as he was always nervous about leaving her, she was the most important thing in his life and he couldn't help but worry all the time.

"Dad, this is not my first time to NCIS, sure sometimes I get into hilarious misadventure but it turns out to be alright in the end" she smiled.

"Got it" he said as he kissed her head "I'll see you after my meeting" he said as he turned to walk upstairs.

"Remember dad" she said causing him to stop in his tracks and turn to her "we still have to finish my family tree" she said with a cheeky grin knowing those words make him cringe.

"Great" Tony muttered under his breath as he went to continue up the stairs. Though Asha was nine she hadn't asked many questions about her mother, he'd guessed that she had accepted that it was just them two, but ever since shed been assigned the horrid family tree project, she has been quite persistent.

"Director, your meeting with SecNav will begin in 10 minutes in MTAC" his assistant Cheryl said giving him messages from the morning, though it was only 7:30.

"Thanks Cheryl" Tony said taking the messages and giving her his famous DiNozzo grin and went to his office and sat behind his desk.

It was still weird for him to be in here though it has been roughly four years since he took the job when Vance took early retirement. It initially was a surprise to Tony when he was offered the Director Job, because he never was team leader except when Gibbs left for Mexico so many years ago. When he heard from McGee that Vance was retiring, he thought they were going to bring in someone knew or get Gibbs, and he was shocked that Gibbs had supported Tony with Vance for the job. He sat at his desk preparing for his quarterly meeting with SecNav as he tried to figure out what he was going to do with Asha and her project. The topic of her mother came and went quickly when she was younger but now as she's getting older he knows she needs a mother in her life. He just can't break her heart and tell her that her mother left, true it was to protect her, but she still left and he's afraid that is all Asha will see.

~~N~~C~~I~~S~~N~~C~~I~~S~~N~~C~~I~~S~~N~~C~~I~~S~~N~~C~~I~~S~~N~~C~~I~~S~~N~~C~~I~~S~~

His meeting was boring but necessary and always looked forward to lunchtime whenever Asha would come to NCIS for the day. Meanwhile while her father was busy finishing paperwork Asha roamed around NCIS trying very hard not to find trouble, which was very difficult for her. She had a very active imagination and most of the time it landed her in trouble, whether it is stealing a banana from somebody's lunch and suturing it closed or using an unoccupied autopsy freezer to keep her ice cream sandwich cold on a warm day. She didn't want to cause him anymore stress so she decided just to sit at a desk in the MCRT bullpen and read her new book. She climbed into her preferred seat which belongs to Special Agent Todd Jacobs…or Tony's old desk.

"Hey Ash" Special Agent Clara Reynolds said as she went to her desk that was located directly across from the one she sat at.

"You staying out of trouble?" she asked.

"Me?" she teased "Of course I am" Asha replied innocently as Special Agent Reynolds left the bullpen leaving her alone. She decided that today she was going to stay completely out of trouble and instead of putting super glue on her Uncle McGee's keyboard she just decided to read. She was just getting to the part when Alice was slowly falling down the rabbit hole when she heard someone begin to speak.

"Excuse me" she said.

"Yes" Ash replied her nose still in her book.

"I am looking for Special Agent Gibbs or DiNozzo, do you know-" the visitor froze as soon as Asha raised her head from her book her curly hair bouncing slightly and her emerald eyes glinting in the reflection from the sky-light.

"Umm…I'm not sure where Gibbs is-" she said looking around the bullpen and reaching for the phone.

"I'm right here" Gibbs said as he came up behind them, coffee in hand.

"Hi Gibbs" Asha said enthusiastically.

"Hey kid" he replied giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"This nice lady is looking for you or dad" she said as she motioned towards the lady and Gibbs followed her hand.

"Hello Gibbs" she said

"Ziva"

**REVIEW MAKE ME HAPPY**

**DFTBA! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Another chapter! I have one more already written so that will be posted either Sunday or Monday-Wednesday. But after that it will be more spaced out. *****OTHER THAN THE 'LAST TIME' FLASHBACK IS IN ITALICS*******

**LAST TIME: **_"This nice lady is looking for you or dad" Asha said as she motioned towards the lady and Gibbs followed her hand._

"_Hello Gibbs" she said_

"_Ziva"_

Gibbs was in shock; he couldn't help but feel a little bit of disappointment for someone who is like his daughter. He knew the truth about everything and that made him look differently towards the situation than anyone else, including Tony who now was his boss. They both stared in silence as she lowered her head slightly breaking the eye contact between the former co-workers.

"Gibbs?" Asha asked breaking the silence in the usually noisy room after watching her grandfather just stared at this lady now known as 'Ziva'.

"Hey Ash come here" he asked and she quickly complied as he put an arm around her tiny shoulders.

"This is Ziva, one of my former agents and your dads old partner" he explained "Ziva, this is Tony's daughter Asha" he said as he went over the formality of introducing the two though Ziva knew who she was.

"You know my dad?" she asked curiously, lately she's tried to piece together the puzzle of her dads past.

"Knew him" she corrected "it was a long time ago. It is nice to meet you Asha" she said with a small watery smile.

"It's nice to meet you too" she said to Ziva and then turned to Gibbs "can I go explore?"

"Go" he said and she took off towards the elevator "Stairs" he said gruffly and smiled as he seen her swerve pas the elevator and climb down the stairs to see her favorite forensic scientist.

"Gibbs" she smiled weakly.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked as soon as they were alone and Ziva's eyes had filled with tears.

"Yes" she said forcefully knowing she was not at all truthful "She is beautiful, she has Tony's eyes"

"She is" Gibbs agreed "What are you doing in DC?"

"My father passed away two weeks ago"

"I'm sorry Ziver" he said giving her hand a slight squeeze.

"I no longer have any ties to Mossad so I came back. I do not understand why I came back though it has been nine years. Too much time has passed. I do not understand how or why anyone would forgive me…especially her" she said sadly "I was hoping that Tony still worked here"

"Director's office" Gibbs said.

"I heard that he is now the Director, I am proud of him"

"You going to be okay?" he asked remembering her partner was asked the same thing many years ago.

_Meanwhile…_

"Abby!" Asha yelled over the deafening sounds of _Brain Matter_.

"Ash!" she exclaimed as she turned down the music and rushed over to her favorite little lady, grabbing her in a hug and swinging her in a circle.

"Gibbs said you were here today! This is so exciting you haven't been to NCIS in forever!"

"It's only been a couple of days" she laughed "Are you busy?"

"Not overly busy, Major Mass Spec is working on some samples for another team and he won't be done for a while so I'm all yours! Why what's up?"

"I need to ask you two questions"

"Shoot"

"Well, three kind of, what do you know about a woman named Jeanne?"

"H-How do you know who that is"

"I was looking through old pictures of my dad's and was wondering if you knew her"

"Not really, they dating a while ago"

"How long ago?" Asha asked though Abby quickly caught on to her drift.

""Twelve years ago for five months Miss cheeky"

"Okay, do you know Ziva?" that definatly got Abby's attention.

"She was a friend"

"Oh okay. I need you to help me with my homework"

"Okay" she said warily because the last project Asha had she asked Tim to help her make a model rocket that worked, which destroyed their living room and she had to spend three days cleaning up the mess it caused.

"I have to make my family tree, but I don't know who my mom is"

"Sorry Ash, I can't help you with that" she responded immediately now knowing her motive her asking about Jeanne.

"Why not Abs" she said with her famous pout.

"Your dad never told me who it is" she lied "but I can help you the rest of it. I'm pretty sure you can put Gibbs on it and myself of course" she added just as she heard a familiar 'ding' she wondering who was going to visit her and was stunned as she saw who was exiting the elevator.

"ZIVA!" she screeched and enveloped her former best friend in a vice like grip "was that why you were asking those questions?" she asked though she still had not let go of her former best friend.

"Abby I cannot breathe" she laughed.

"Sorry, oh my goodness you look so great, I missed you so much, I'm so happy your back" she said with tears lining her eyes then lightly slapped Ziva on the arm.

"It is good to see you too" she replied "and what was that for?" though she already knew the answer.

"I have seen you in so long and you stopped writing"

"I know Abby, I am sorry for that"

"I'm just glad you're back" she said as she went back to hugging her friend "you are back right?" she asked holding her friend now at arm's length.

"Yes Abby I am back"

"Like back in DC or back to NCIS or both?"

"I have to talk to your Director first"

"So you have to talk to Tony" she grinned.

"Yes, he is the director"

" but have you seen him yet?...Tony!" Abby squealed as soon as she seen Tony enter her lab.

"Hey Abs…I'm…um…looking for Ash" he said starting to get nervous as soon as he seen her.

"Hello Tony" Ziva said quietly feeling his nervousness.

"Ziva" he said coldly.

"DAD!" Asha squealed in delight as she jumped into his arms.

"Sweetie pie" he answered picking her up.

Feeling Ziva's tension Abby quietly lead her back to her office as they watched the interaction between father and daughter.

"He's great with her you know" she reassured the silently crying assassin "he really man-ed up and has become such a great father to her. We were all kind of surprised how quickly he got the hang of it. He's really changed too" she reassured "before, his perfect Friday night would be hanging out with buddies, having a beer and watching action movies. Now, his Friday nights are spent with Asha, having root beer with her and watching Disney movies" she explained.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Ziva sniffled as Abby just raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side in a knowing glance.

"Tony told you that I am her mother?" she asked not looking at her, just watch Tony tickle their daughter's side and her burst out in laughter.

"No" Abby said blankly "anyone who knew you could tell the moment you laid your eyes on Asha that you were her mother" she said "we all knew instantly, we want answers" she said trying to be reassuring and kind but after almost ten years away from her daughter Abby had some trepidation.

_Knock…knock… knock_

_She stood their bouncing in the hallway to his apartment excitedly waiting for Tony to answer the door. She hadn't seen him in a week and she thought that she would surprise him with a visit and Chinese food. She was very antsy and was wondering why he wasn't answering his door after only 30 seconds so she knocked again and immediately the door opened to reveal a very disheveled looking Tony who looked like he hadn't had a showered in days._

"_Hi Tony" she said brightly. _

"_Hey Abs" he said nervously "watcha doing here?" he asked trying not to sound rude._

"_You haven't been answering our calls, and I missed you tony" she replied with a small smile "I brought you dinner" she exclaimed as she held up a brown paper bag that was filled with take-out containers._

"_Thanks Abby now isn't the greatest time" he admitted._

"_Do you have a girl over?" she asked with a wink._

_But before he could answer a loud wail came echoing through the door which caused Abby's eyes almost to pop out of her head._

"_Come on in" he said, slight annoyance lined his voice._

"_Tony?" she called out "what's going on?" she added as she slowly entered his apartment. As she looked around she honestly thought a tornado had gone through this place, clothes everywhere, dishes lay scattered about and bottles? _

"_Tony?" she said again as her train of thought had disappeared as he came back into the room but this time with a small baby wearing a __Batman __onesie._

"_Tony" she said again but this time in awe "she's so cute" she squealed as she noted the small black bow taped to her head. _

"_What's her name?" she asked taking the baby from Tony's arms_

"_Asha"_

"_Gorgeous" she cooed "let me guess Ziva named her?" she asked while making funny faces at the baby who was trying to go to sleep, only to get a blank expression from Tony "What? Ziva's her mother" she stated._

"_How did you know?" the team knew Tony and Ziva were together but because she had left so long ago he didn't think they would catch on that quickly._

"_Look at her Tony, she's basically Ziva but with green eyes and in baby form. Beautiful chocolate baby curls that are probably going to become as unruly as Ziva's once was" she laughed "we're not that stupid, well I'm not. You don't give me enough credit I am a scientist"…_

"Are you okay Ziva?" she asked when she seen the tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Yes" she lied again "I have to go"

"Ziva" she said as she grabbed her friends arm to keep her from leaving.

"I have to go Abby" and with the she let her go and watched as she walked quickly out of the lab not even acknowledging Tony as she passed him, which was fine with him.

**Reviews make my heart smile and help/encourage me.**

**And guys Don't Forget to Be Awesome**

**Love you guys. **


End file.
